How To Face Your Child’s Prom Night Without Fear

Kids may be counting down the hours to prom, but it’s a bittersweet occasion for parents, seeing their children on the threshold of adulthood.Kids may be counting down the hours to prom, but it’s a bittersweet occasion for parents, seeing their children on the threshold of adulthood.

While there’s been an overall decline in teen alcohol use in recent years, prom night can be a game changer, even for kids who wouldn’t normally drink. Think of prom as a teen’s version of a trip to Vegas—everyday rules don’t apply—and some students consider alcohol a standard part of the end-of-year celebration.

Parents need to be aware that many kids will choose to drink or smoke pot before the party and shockingly, many parents will facilitate it by supplying alcohol or an unsupervised home to their teen and his or her friends. Some parents see prom as a rite of passage and feel that since their teenager is about to head off to college, they can be more liberal or permissive than they might otherwise be.